[curvz]

Been enjoying my Niimbus US5 Pro for a year now. Have it paired up with a Utopia and Atrium, but inquiring any Susvara or 1266 Phi TC owners on their pairings with the Niimbus? I want bass that goes deeper than the Utopia/Atrium.

I can only say good things about the pairing honestly, combined with the May. I'm getting great clarity, it's musical and engaging and well balanced, as you'd expect from a US4/US5. The only qualifier is should add is that I haven't heard the Susvara on any other high end amps, so I'll fall short on comparisons. Fact is that I'm not at all interested in upgrading to any other solid state - I even resisted the Holo Bliss temptation (matching stack!).

I may add a tube amp in due time, but that is to have a different presentation rather than trying to improve on the US4+, and will not replace the Niimbus.

I also get the crackling noise in the right ear cup- different than the volume pot clicking sound. It usually goes away after a second or two and does not happen when playing music. Hopefully not a sign of any issues but it doesn’t seem to be.

Hope it doesn't get any worse for you. For reference, I only get the crackles from the pot when adjusting volume - once I stop touching the volume control, all is quiet.

 

[GREGGO1545]

I can only say good things about the pairing honestly, combined with the May. I'm getting great clarity, it's musical and engaging and well balanced, as you'd expect from a US4/US5. The only qualifier is should add is that I haven't heard the Susvara on any other high end amps, so I'll fall short on comparisons. Fact is that I'm not at all interested in upgrading to any other solid state - I even resisted the Holo Bliss temptation (matching stack!).

I may add a tube amp in due time, but that is to have a different presentation rather than trying to improve on the US4+, and will not replace the Niimbus.


Hope it doesn't get any worse for you. For reference, I only get the crackles from the pot when adjusting volume - once I stop touching the volume control, all is quiet.

Thank you! I appreciate your impressions of pairing the Susvara with the Niimbus. Do you find the bass to be punchy or full sounding? With the utopia it’s punchy but just a tad too much body. What kind of music do you listen to?

 

[curvz]

Thank you! I appreciate your impressions of pairing the Susvara with the Niimbus. Do you find the bass to be punchy or full sounding? With the utopia it’s punchy but just a tad too much body. What kind of music do you listen to?

The Susvara is a very well balanced headphone, and the Niimbus is a neutral but full bodied amp, so I think that works well in keeping the character of the Sus while making sure it doesn't sound thin. Bass is rich enough, especially the subbass, but the Niimbus will not add any more bass on top of how the headphones are tuned.

Can't say I ever found the Utopia (og) to have too much body though, and that was on a V280. So we may have different tastes there.

I get a good amount of punch on the Susvara, I certainly don't have the experience of the Sus bring aenemic or unengaging as some people claim. It doesn't compete with the LCD-4 or the Elites in that area, but I don't find it lacking. The Utopia I would consider another step up from those two in terms of punch, though that is from memory as I didn't own it at the same time as my current set of headphones.

I mostly listen to classic and modern rock, as well as film and game soundtracks, but I do like to mix it up a bit. Recently I find Katie Melua very alluring on the Sus.

The Niimbus will drive the Susvara very well, but it won't turn them into a 1266!

 

[GREGGO1545]

The Susvara is a very well balanced headphone, and the Niimbus is a neutral but full bodied amp, so I think that works well in keeping the character of the Sus while making sure it doesn't sound thin. Bass is rich enough, especially the subbass, but the Niimbus will not add any more bass on top of how the headphones are tuned.

Can't say I ever found the Utopia (og) to have too much body though, and that was on a V280. So we may have different tastes there.

I get a good amount of punch on the Susvara, I certainly don't have the experience of the Sus bring aenemic or unengaging as some people claim. It doesn't compete with the LCD-4 or the Elites in that area, but I don't find it lacking. The Utopia I would consider another step up from those two in terms of punch, though that is from memory as I didn't own it at the same time as my current set of headphones.

I mostly listen to classic and modern rock, as well as film and game soundtracks, but I do like to mix it up a bit. Recently I find Katie Melua very alluring on the Sus.

The Niimbus will drive the Susvara very well, but it won't turn them into a 1266!

Thank you that makes sense! Wish my wallet could do the 1266 and Susvara… maybe one day hah. I really appreciate your detailed thoughts about the pairing of Niimbus and Susvara!

 

[J Mirra]

Guys to stop the cracking ( for a time ) with no music on turn the volume round left to right about 8 times quite fast.

 

[thecrow]

Been enjoying my Niimbus US5 Pro for a year now. Have it paired up with a Utopia and Atrium, but inquiring any Susvara or 1266 Phi TC owners on their pairings with the Niimbus? I want bass that goes deeper than the Utopia/Atrium.

I have the us4 with the utopia and susvara.

i bought the us4 when i decided to buy the susvara. I have no need for another ss amp and no other hp that i have heard will replace what the susvara gives me. The susvara has set a new standard for me.

when demoing the 1266 tc a coupe of times i never noticed a dip in the mids that i read about. I can only assume i am not sensitive to dips in mids or simply the us4 pumps up the mids a bit, like you say you notice with the utopia - so that’s probably why i did not detect a noticeable dip in mids of 1266.

note: that was roughly two 30 min demos of the 1266 with my amp.

i do not find any issue with susvaras for me - no dip below the high end, no sharp top end and no issue with lack of quality bass (those these are not the lcd4), that others with other setups can sometimes mention.

tl:dr;
susvaras and us4 are a superb combo - and a superb option, particularly if you already have the amp.

imho, ymmv, my 2c

ps: pretty much no crackles - maybe one single one every 50 hours of play that i have no idea what the source is

 

[vonBaron]

Definitely Niimbus synergy is better with 1266 than Susvara (great with Utopia too).

 

[thecrow]

Definitely Niimbus synergy is better with 1266 than Susvara (great with Utopia too).

As i’m sure i have already posted a couple of times on headfi (who knows what thread) i personally found the 1266 very good and very enjoyable (no flaws that stood out to me) but the susvaras are exceptional.

(that’s not to say that there are possibly better amps - but my budget won’t allow me to explore that and i have no need to)

Again i stress, and put it into context that that is just based on my own preferences and never having lived with the 1266

all are great headphone options to explore if within our budgets

 

[alekc]

Definitely Niimbus synergy is better with 1266 than Susvara (great with Utopia too).

@vonBaron can you tell me something about Stellia synergy with Niimbus please?

 

[vonBaron]

Never heard Stellia on Niimbus, but I bet they sound great too.

 

[GREGGO1545]

Guys to stop the cracking ( for a time ) with no music on turn the volume round left to right about 8 times quite fast.

I can’t believe that this actually worked. How the heck did you figure this out?!

 

[J Mirra]

I can’t believe that this actually worked. How the heck did you figure this out?!

Im a DJ and mixers have a lot of pots and fader's and they can start to crackle so a waggle of the fader or the pot always sorted this out.
That's why I tried it.

 

[vonBaron]

Im a DJ and mixers have a lot of pots and fader's and they can start to crackle so a waggle of the fader or the pot always sorted this out.
That's why I tried it.

And for how long it will work?

 

[J Mirra]

And for how long it will work?

If you use the volume pot by hand it doesn't seem to happen.
It happens when you just use the remote.
So the slow turning of the remote doesnt remove whatever the build up is but a hand that moves faster does.

 

[Zhang Enyuan]

I also get the crackling noise in the right ear cup- different than the volume pot clicking sound. It usually goes away after a second or two and does not happen when playing music. Hopefully not a sign of any issues but it doesn’t seem to be.

Such a situation?
It only happens when the volume is rotated